Detroit Red Wings Continue To Improve Defense With Petry Acquisition
On Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick. While this move does not blow up the internet or send shockwaves through the NHL, this is a move both teams come out on top for different reasons. This allows Detroit to duild their rebuilding defense even more, while it allows Montreal to grab a young defenseman while getting rid of a contract.
What does this mean for the Detroit Red Wings?
General manager Steve Yzerman continues his off-season quest to make this version of the Red Wings a playoff contender. He has been busy, adding more than 10 players to the team in the past couple of months through free agency and trades. While the talk of Hockey Town has been the acquisition of goal scorer Alex DeBrincat, the talk should be surrounding the defense that Yzerman has put together in the past year. Last year it was acquiring Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta. This off-seasaon, he has acquired more defensive pieces. With the trade to acquire Petry, the defense now looks like Maatta, Chiarot, Perty, Moritz Seider, Jake Walman, Justin Holl, and Shayne Gostisbehere. Detroit has had trouble with their defenseman holding their ground over the past couple of years, due to roster shuffling and getting younger players in the lineup.
Yzerman has really fixed this defense and now the Red Wings have a defense that may turn into the defense they have been hoping for. There is no young talent, only defensemen with experience that can play a regular shift, play either power play, put up offense or grind it out. This is about as sound of a defense as a team in the NHL can hope for. They have size, speed, ability to join the rush or stay back and protect their zone. Petry adds to the re-tooling of the Detroit Red Wings defense and, on paper, they look so much better.
Petry played last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, totaling five goals and 26 assists for 31 points in 61 games. Pittsburgh then dealt Petry back to Montreal as part of the big Erik Karlsson traded back on August 6th. In his career, Petry has recorded 92 goals and 261 assists for 353 points while suiting up for the Canadiens, Penguins, and Edmonton Oilers. Petry can be an asset on the second power play and use his experience to make this second power play unit a better one overall. He does not have a blistering shot but one that is effective on screens and deflections. Petry also has a solid two-way game as he uses his body to clear the front of the net and protect his goaltender. This is also a homecoming so to speak. Petry’s father, Dan Petry, played for the Detroit Tigers and was part of the World Series championship team in 1984.
Detroit gained an asset they can use immediately for a player that could afford to lose. Making this deal possible was Montreal eating some of Petry’s contract, therefore Lindstrom was expendable. This defense of the Detroit Red Wings is much improved and could be the reason the Red Wings see the playoffs for the first time in many years.